Diamond Fraud - Article By Diamond Source of Virginia www.dsourceva.com

Many factors affect quality and value in diamonds. When the average person is looking at a stone already set, it is very difficult, if not impossible, to see differences that can dramatically affect cost. For this reason, we recommend buying any important diamond unmounted, and mounting it only after all the facts have been verified. But you don't have to be a "gemologists" or fear buying jewelry. You do need to be aware of the potential for fraud or misrepresentation in the jewelry industry.

Switching

Stone switching does occur occasionally and can be extremely disturbing because of the loss of value and the concern for making false accusations. Since the beginning of time, there have been some jewelers who take advantage of the typical customer who never paid close attention to their own diamond. The customer takes a high quality, but dirty diamond in for repair or appraisal and is returned a shiny and sparkly diamond several days later. It is in the same mounting and appears the same to the customer's untrained eye. Of course the owner has not taken a close look at their diamond in years. If the unethical jeweler had switched the stone and replaced it with a similar size but lesser quality stone, they just generated thousands of dollars of tax free money. Think of all the watch batteries and gold earrings they have to sell to produce that same income.

To avoid unnecessary worry and prevent your diamond from being switched when you have it repaired or appraised, take notice of the following suggestions:

If you are fortunate enough to have a diamond with a laser inscription, you can use this feature to help protect against your diamond being switched. If you take your diamond to a jewelry store or repair shop, be sure to tell them the diamond is laser inscribed and examine it with them under a microscope so all parties agree that the diamond is inscribed. Then tell them you would like to examine the diamond's laser inscription when your ring is returned to you. You need to do these things anyway to ensure they do not put a prong over the inscription if they are adjusting it in any way. It also let's the store know you are familiar with your diamond with should squelch any thoughts they might have about switching your diamond.

Misrepresentation

While switching diamonds is outright fraud and theft, false representation can be equally dishonest. The Federal Trade Commission requires that a diamond be within one clarity and color grade of what it is originally sold as. Because of this, jewelers tend to "bump" the grade. For example, if a jeweler buys a stone as a SI1-H, he'll bump it up and sell it as a VS2-G. If you buy it as a VS2-G and have it appraised as a SI1-H, the dealer is legally covered, because he sold it within one grade of what it really is.

For many years it was common practice for jewelers to "exaggerate" a diamonds color and clarity by two grading levels. The differences were difficult to discern with the untrained eye and the jeweler had control over both the situation and environment. They determined the lighting, the stones used for comparison, if any, and the words used to describe the diamond. Many of these jewelers were willing to put everything in writing, often including a full "appraisal." Such dishonest practices often go undetected because most people assume when a seller is willing to "put it in writing," he or she is properly representing the item. Most buyers never bother to have the facts verified. In recent years more and more shoppers ask to see certified diamonds which limits the ability to misrepresent the diamonds grading.

Advice: Always ask if the diamond is certified. If it isn't, insist that the sale is contingent on the stone being certified. The threat of certification should be enough to keep the jeweler from trying to bump the color and clarity grades.

Beware of jewelers not willing to put the facts in writing, but who offer to let you take the stone, prior to the sale, to an appraiser in the neighborhood. This may be a scam. If is often seen in wholesale districts like New York's famous 47th Street. Many people are immediately hooked, and conclude erroneously that since they can get an appraisal if they choose, everything must be in order. So they don't. And they become victims of intentional misrepresentation. Those who do wish to get an appraisal usually face another problem. They don't know any appraiser, or certainly not any in the 47th Street neighborhood. Unfortunately, the "reliable appraiser" suggested by the seller often means the seller can rely on the appraiser to tell the prospective buyers what the seller wants them to hear.

Fake Diamonds

Another common area of fraud is the development of extremely good looking imitations (also called simulants). These fakes can fool just about anyone, even diamond experts. Cubic zirconia, synthetic spinel, colorless glass and synthetic diamonds have flooded the market with stones that resemble real diamonds in many ways.

Scientists have succeeded in creating a new diamond imitation that is now entering the jewelry marketplace, synthetic moissanite (silicon carbide). It has recently made the news because it fools some of the older electronic diamond testers, indicating "diamond" when tested! Fortunately, moissanite is lighter than diamond so weighing it is a quick way to separate it from diamond if the stone is unmounted.

In and of themselves, these imitations are not bad. They are a problem only when they are represented as real diamonds with prices many times higher than their true value. There are a variety of tests that can be performed to identify real diamonds but the best assurance is to purchase a certified diamond and then ensure the stone matches the certification characteristics.

Clarity Treated Diamonds

Recent technologies for treating diamonds have produced another area of possible fraud. Fracture-filled diamonds and laser drilled diamonds are diamonds that have been treated to enhance their perceived beauty and quality. While these are legitimate treatments that do produce a more beautiful stone for less cost, the difficulty comes when these treatments are not disclosed to the buyer who therefore assumes the diamonds are untreated. Once again, the best method of ensuring your diamond has not had these treatments is to purchase a certified diamond and then match the stone to the certification.

Radiation Color Treatment

Exposing off-color diamonds such as yellowish- or brownish-tinted stones to certain types of radiation can result in the production of fancy colored stones. This treatment produces rich yellows, greens, and blues, and greatly enhances salability because these colors are very desirable. In and of itself, radiation is not fraud; in fact, it may make a "fancy" color diamond affordable to someone otherwise unable to afford one. But again, just be sure that the stone is properly represented and you know what you are buying, and that you are getting it at the right price--which should be much lower than that of the natural fancy. Treated stones must be represented as "treated stones" and should be priced accordingly.

Flaw Concealment

Where possible, flaws are concealed by their settings. The good stone setter will try to set a stone in such a manner that the setting will help to conceal any visible imperfections. For this reason flaws near or at the girdle will downgrade a stone less than those found in the center of the stone; since settings cover all or part of the girdle, they are simply less visible there. Indeed, a setting can make a flaw "invisible." There is nothing fraudulent in such uses of settings as long as the stone is properly represented. The only danger is that not only the customer but also the jeweler may not have seen the imperfection concealed by the setting. For this reason, important diamonds should be viewed and purchased unmounted.

Altering Certificates

Given the significant difference in cost that can result from a grading error in ring-quality diamonds, it is advisable to buy diamonds with certificates. Unfortunately, the confidence of the public in stones accompanied by certificates has given rise to the practice of altering and counterfeiting them. While you can be relatively sure that "certificated" stones sold by reputable firms are what they claim to be, there are some suppliers and dealers who are seizing opportunities to prey on the unsuspecting. If you have any question regarding information on the certificate, a phone call to the lab giving them the certificate number and date will enable them to verify the information on the certificate.